The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Jack Nicklaus Invitational
No. 3 Men's Golf collects second consecutive victory of season at Jack Nicklaus Invitational
10.11.2011 | Men's Golf
Oct. 11, 2011
DUBLIN, Ohio -- The No. 3 Texas Men's Golf team rolled to its second-consecutive victory with a 2-under-par 862 at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational at Muirfield Village GC Tuesday afternoon. UT (299-276-287) claimed a 16-stroke victory over host Ohio State (286-288-304) for its first back-to-back titles since winning the 2006 Isleworth Collegiate (Oct. 22-24) and Aloha Purdue Collegiate (Nov. 22-23).
Last week, the Longhorns won the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate (Oct. 3-4) by a 20-stroke margin.
Four Longhorns posted Top 10 finishes, including freshman Jordan Spieth (T-2nd, 73-66-72=211), senior Dylan Frittelli (7th, 75-71-70=216), junior Julio Vegas (8th, 73-69-75=217) and sophomore Toni Hakula (T-9th, 78-70-70=218).
Spieth made a charge up the individual leaderboard with five birdies and a single bogey through 15 holes before a bogey-bogey-double bogey finish pushed him back to even and two strokes behind medalist Thomas Pieters (66-71-72=209) of Illinois.
Frittelli climbed eight spots after carding a final-round 2-under 70 to improve from a tie for 15th place after 36 holes to seventh. In three fall competitions, the September Big 12 Men's Golfer of the Month has finished each event in the Top 10 after recording back-to-back ties for second place in the Olympia Fields Invitational (Sept. 16-18) and Jerry Pate Intercollegiate (Oct. 3-4).
Vegas notched his second-straight Top 10 finish as well with a 54-hole total of 1-over 217 to finish in eighth place. Hakula finished tied for ninth place in his second event of the year, while senior Adam Wennerstrom (78-81-83=242) finished in 56th place.
The Longhorns return to action on Oct. 23 at the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational in Orlando, Fla.
POST-TOURNAMENT QUOTES
Texas Head Coach John Fields
On the team's victory: "I'm really happy with our guys. We overcame some obstacles out here with Cody Gribble sustaining an injury before we began and Toni Hakula replacing him (in the lineup) to a slow start in the first round. However, we came back with a really solid second round - shooting a 12-under on Muirfield is an exceptional feat. Coming into the final round, against what was really another outstanding field, we kept our focus. For us to win tournaments named after legends like Jerry Pate and Jack Nicklaus is really special for this golf team."
On senior Dylan Frittelli's consistent play: "Dylan set some major goals for himself this fall and has played extremely well against tough fields and challenging courses. The season's not over, and neither are the goals he wants to accomplish. He's off to an incredible start this year."
On freshman Jordan Spieth: "Jordan's finish was bittersweet. These last two tournaments have been contested at championship-caliber courses that are setup for tough finishes. There have been some tremendously difficult finishing holes. But Jordan is a team player and is focused on the same goal as his teammates - winning tournaments."
Final team standings
1. TEXAS - 299-276-287=862 (-2)
2. Ohio State - 286-288-304=878 (+14)
3. Illinois - 288-300-296=884 (+20)
4. Kent State - 291-284-310=885 (+21)
5. UCLA - 289-297-300=886 (+22)
6. Arkansas - 299-291=590 (+14)
7. LSU - 299-289-305=893 (+29)
8. Purdue - 305-297-292=894 (+30)
9. TCU - 298-299-303=900 (+36)
10. Oklahoma State - 296-304-303=903 (+39)
11. North Carolina - 301-305-307=913 (+49)
12. Texas Tech - 303-296-316=915 (+51)
Top-10 individual standings (through two rounds)
1. Thomas Pieters, Illinois - 66-71=137 (-7)
T2. Jordan Spieth, TEXAS - 73-66-72=211(-5)
T2. Tyler Duncan, Purdue - 72-70-69=211 (-5)
4. Luke Guthrie, Illinois - 71-70-72=213 (-3)
T5. Julien Brun, TCU - 71-70-73=214 (-2)
T5. Ethan Tracy, Arkansas - 71-68-75=214 (-2)
7. Dylan Frittelli, TEXAS - 75-71-70=216 (E) 8. Julio Vegas, TEXAS - 73-69-75=217 (+1) T9. Toni Hakula, TEXAS - 78-70-70=218 (+2)
T9. Alex Redfield, Ohio State - 72-70-76=218 (+2)
Additional Texas player
56. Adam Wennerstrom - 78-81-83=242 (+26)
